I am no lover of Baroque music much as I love everything else Baroque. But this is a blanket statement. When I examined it, only recently,  I realised that there is plenty of Baroque music I enjoy, after all. J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor is one of the most famous pieces in all classical music - and its probably the best-known organ work in the world. Bach composed hundreds of fugues, and his set of 48 Preludes and Fugues for keyboard 'are a must' we are told. How about Albinoni's Adagio in G minor? I love it as everyone does. And Vivaldi's Four Seasons? Another beauty. Handel's lively Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from the Oratorio Solomon I enjoy  though I wouldn't dream of sitting through the whole of Solomon. That's all Baroque music I realise.  But at my funeral I would like Ketélbey's In a Monastery Garden played, or Liszt's Consolation No 3, or a Chopin Nocturne. However, at this stage, after an examination of conscience, I am no longer entitled to say that I don't enjoy Baroque music. I like some of it and must from this year on look out for the Valletta Baroque Festival and examine its programme properly.

This year I was encouraged to go and listen to the violinist Charlie Siem on a number of counts. First of all because I have seen him perform before and loved his playing. Secondly Bach Spectacular Violin was a lunchtime concert and last but not least because Palazzo Parisio uplifts my spirits.

When we say Baroque we are in the period from 1600 to 1750. It was during this time that Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament. In Malta we have a fireworks factory blowing itself and others with it all too frequently. Fawkes didn't succeed but they do, without even trying. Too sad. When is it going to be stopped?

It was during this period that the Pilgrim Fathers set sail on the Mayflower, for a new life in America and Charles I was beheaded. Isaac Newton was hit on the head by an apple and realised that the earth had a gravitational pull and astronomers decided that it is the earth that orbits the sun and not the other way round. At last.

In this period the Church was still an important force in deciding what music would be written as they provided work for many composers and musicians and commissioned new music.  But the Church was gradually replaced by the nobility who commissioned composers and employed musicians chiefly for recreational pleasure and to show off their status.

The fine arts as much as the performing arts were designed to impress as well as to dazzle and they did.

Charlie Siem was in the front row when God was giving out his gifts. Not only is he super talented but he is super handsome, stylish and altogether looks like a well-brought up super model. According to programme notes he has also had numerous collaborations with fashion brands including Armani, Chanel, Dior and others. I briefly spoke to his fiancée who was present and she said that he designs his own costumes and has an excellent tailor in London.

I know it is superficial to judge anyone by their looks. We do not decide on our looks unfortunately. However, this is showbiz, yes, once you go up on a stage whether it is to perform, to act, to give a lecture or read a poem, it becomes showbiz. Who wants to spend an hour or so gazing at someone scruffy? Charlie has it all and gave us a wonderful concert playing a J.S. Bach's Sonata in A minor and Partita in E major. I fell slightly in love with Bach at this stage. The violinist must have been exhausted at the end of these two demanding pieces. One could sense it yet we simply had to have an encore as we knew that we would not be listening to him again for at least a year. The audience loved every minute of that concert and would not stop clapping until this gifted violinist played one of Paganini's 24 Caprices, possibly the composer's keywork which left an indelible mark on the history of instrumental music. I liked the Caprice best of all. Afterwards I noticed that Charlie was talking to a group of young people. What a star.

 

I asked three people involved in the Valletta Baroque Festival and who were present at the concert for a comment.

Here is what Annabelle Stivala, CEO Festivals Malta said: "The Valletta Baroque  Festival indeed complements our high quality portfolio of cultural festivals and provides us with another opportunity to keep raising the bar as the national agency for festivals in Malta."

Kenneth Zammit Tabona, Artistic Director: "It's great that the festival has returned to its original pre Covid format and that culture as such is as strong and influential as ever. It's also gratifying to see all the people flocking from overseas to follow a plethora of concerts that although are performed all over the world take on a unique guise when performed in wonderful Maltese Baroque settings like St Johns co Cathedral or the Manoel Theatre. This is the festival's strength. Not rocket science when one thinks about it but merely showcasing this islands singular Baroque artistic and architectural heritage. 

Charlie Siem has become a great friend which is in this cyber world an easy thing to be despite the fact that he plays all over the world. He's as handsome as he's talented yet he works very hard at being the professional violinist that he is and to listen to that Paganini Capriccio that he played as an encore, the theme of which so many composers including Rachmaninov and Brahms used to write exquisite variations, with its extraordinary virtuosic demands was a joy in itself especially after the demanding Bachian masterpieces." 

Christian Debono, who is a member of the Marketing Team said: "The Valletta Baroque Festival has been always dear to me since the early age of 13 when I used to attend concerts most of the time all alone. Something that used to somewhat intimidate me was the fact that the festival was largely attended by an older audience. Having said that, the diversification of the audience is something we worked hard to achieve this year, and I can say that we are starting to get there. The audience has become much more diverse due to the eclectic programme that Kenneth Zammit Tabona carefully curates and our presence on digital platforms."

If I am still alive I shall be present at more concerts next year. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication.

 

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Photos: Lindsey Bahia